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Posted on 05/19/2020 6:05:44 PM PDT by lightman
JERSEY SHORE – A state House member accuses the Department of Health of not having any idea of what is happening at the ManorCare Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jersey Shore except what it is being told.
“I find this not only unacceptable but grossly negligent if not criminal” that the department does not know how many patients there have died from COVID-19, Rep. Gareth D. Everett, R-Lycoming, wrote Tuesday email to a number of state officials including Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine.
The department’s statistics of seven deaths and 71 residents and 14 staff testing positive differ from figures provided by county Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. and Julie Beckert, assistant vice president and director of marketing and communications at ManorCare’s corporate offices in Toledo.
“They [Health Department] are completely clueless,” Kiessling said. He lists 15 COVID-19 deaths in the county, of which 14 were ManorCare patients. The number of deaths has increased by six since May 12.
According to Beckert’s figures, there were 76 patients in the facility and 51 have tested positive. The figures do not include those who are hospitalized, she said.
In addition, 13 staff members are out because of the virus,
but Beckert said staffing has not been an issue because the center’s population is lower than normal.
“It is not at all reassuring the DOH [Health Department] is unaware of how many deaths are attributable to MCJS [ManorCare Jersey Shore] and makes me seriously question if DOH has any idea how many cases of residents or staff there are and have been at MCJS,” Everett wrote.
Since the outbreak occurred, 73 patients have tested positive, Beckert said.
RELATED: Another Pa. lawmaker calls for resignation of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine RELATED: Some central Pa. nursing homes plagued by COVID-19 infections and deaths, new data shows
In an earlier email Tuesday, Everett expressed frustration at the lack of response to his request for information on how the Health Department was addressing the situation at the ManorCare facility.
The department has large nursing home issues but, he said, “from our perspective, this is a really big deal. How it got out of control is a sad, sad situation.”
The department publicly does not provide information about individual nursing homes, spokesman Nate Wardle said.
However, Everett made public the response he received, also Tuesday, from Dave Toth, the department’s legislative director.
Toth told the lawmaker the department has discussed with ManorCare the challenges surrounding their outbreak. It continues to work with the facility on infection control protocols and has informed it of channels to request personal protective equipment.
ManorCare advised to closely monitor staffing and share any issues with the department and county so “residents are not left at risk,” Toth wrote.
Beckert claims a Health Department representative visited the center and was satisfied with the infection control processes in place that include universal masking and employees caring for patients in isolation wearing full personnel protective equipment.
“This is a dangerous virus and once it gets into a center, it is a challenge to manage,” Beckert said.
The North Central Healthcare Coalition on May 1 used a device to decontaminate four rooms for occupancy by patients not affected by the virus.
A Manor Care neighbor calls the situation a potential “powder keg.” It will be a big problem if the virus gets out in the community, John Shireman said.
What if it spreads to Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital next door, the 71-year-old Vietnam War veteran asked.
There is a secure connection between the two buildings and the hospital has followed all necessary precautions when caring for COVID-19 patients from Manor Care, Geisinger spokesman Joseph H. Stender III said.
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Chopping off your penis is perfectly normal, isn't it?
/s
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
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It’s normal. Ask Loreana.
They a severely mentally disturbed person as the health director.
That was a recipe for disaster.
Were there non-disclosure legalities involve? I sign non-disclosure statements all the time. From doctors visits to physical therapy.
They have a severely mentally disturbed person as health director.
That was a recipe for disaster.
Not knowing? It knew.
Dr. Levine wasn’t the only high profile person who knew of the dangerous decisions being made. Cuomo also had to be aware of it. I get the feeling Levine will be the scapegoat for most of this. He is being set up. Somebody’s head has got to roll.
They did this on purpose.
They are murderers.
I’ve posted this before, but deserves frequent repetition:
How many economists and policy wonks have bemoaned the pending “Social Security Crisis” or the “Medicare crisis” this year?
{{{crickets}}}
The CCP provided their Final Solution.
This was an INTENTIONAL—not an accident.
Not enough have died to make even a blip.
You mean Wolf. This is Transylvania, not NY.
FYI, Its was Feb 29th, when deaths started in the Kirkland Nursing homes.
It was all over the news with a total of 37 deaths. No excuse this is May 12. All nursing homes (PA/NJ/NY) should have been prepared for this.
They prepared, alright, by locking down and barring "outside vistors" long before any government orders.
Then the government inspectors backed away citing lack of resource or some other Bravo Sierra.
In short, they were totally unsupervised and unaccountable.
And for the agencies who reneged on their responsibilities it is INEXCUSABLE.
Oh, that’s right. This went on in several cities, not just in NY.
No worries, the stupidity expressed by the governors stretches from sea to sea.
The governors who forced nursing homes to take covid patients ought to be held criminally liable.
It was obviously a deliberate plan by Blue State governors.
Dr. Levine wasn’t the only high profile person who knew of the dangerous decisions being made.
—
Levine knew. Why else did he move his mother out of the nursing home weeks before the outbreak.
This cannot be forgotten. They can't even lie or cover it up. Close to half of all deaths were in these homes. It is simply murder.
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